Lawkeeper pt 4
Lawkeeper pt 4
“I have to admit, Dare, occasionally you do manage to come up with a good idea,”
“Thanks,” Darien drawled sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
Andrew winked at him before going on, “It’s a perfect day to go to the pool but what made you, mister stick-in-the-mud the first, come up with such a brilliant idea?”
“I’ve just had the urge to go swimming for no particular reason ever since I woke up this morning.”
Andrew lifted his eyebrows and his face showed his disbelief at that. Darien couldn’t blame him. Usually he did have a reason for everything he did, but he’d told his blonde friend the truth. He really didn’t know why he wanted to stretch out in an expanse of water. All he knew was that the pool was the nearest available site for him to satisfy his peculiar craving for aquatic exercise and if an absence of... something nagged at him, well he could ignore it.
Instead, he took a moment to savour the bright spring morning. The sky was clear and the breeze gentle. Several birds nested in the trees that lined the footpath outside of the pool enclosure. Through the wall he could hear happy laughter, splashing and the squeals of young and old. He paid the entrance fee and then followed as Andrew led him to the changing rooms. Ten minutes later both men walked out to the Olympic sized pool and stashed their towels near a couple of chairs.
Suddenly Andrew grinned in a fashion that reminded Darien profoundly of a shark.
“What...?” Darien asked carefully and Andrew’s grin just got broader.
“Look at the babes over there Dare,” he pointed and winked at Darien, “You just gotta love spring!”
Darien turned to where the blonde pointed and shook his head as he examined what looked to be four curvy college students in bikinis. “I thought Rita was your one and only. I believe the phrase you used was ‘soul-mate’,” he mocked. From the corner of his eye, Darien saw Andrew smile beatifically.
“One does not need to pick a flower to enjoy its loveliness,” his friend preached virtuously.
Darien snorted. “If only Rita knew what a letch you really are,” he retorted wryly and Andrew looked at him innocently.
“I? You wrong me my friend. I am filled to the brim with altruism. For myself, I gain only the slightest of aesthetic pleasures from yonder maidens. Yet, for the brother of my heart, I must examine them most painstakingly so that I may select appropriate candidates to present before you, my demure yet compelling associate, to provide the companionship which is sorely lacking in your existence!”
Darien stared at his blonde friend and after a moment said dryly, “I managed to understand the first part, and I think your nose just got longer, but you lost me after ‘yonder maidens.’”
Andrew looked at Darien and smiled evilly. “Let me translate: I’m gonna get you a girlfriend.”
Darien glared at the other man darkly. “Get that idea out of your head right now!” he demanded but suspected that he did so in vain.
Andrew confirmed it when he dodged Darien’s grasp and moved just out of reach. “I know that you want to wait for the right one Bro, but you’re not as lucky as me and Rita and so you’re going to have to get out there and look for her. Don’t sweat it too much though, I’ll help you until you get the hang of it-”
“Drew,” Darien growled, “I don’t need or even want a girlfriend.”
Andrew sniffed in very superior fashion that caused Darien to grit his teeth and declared with some asperity, “Wait until after you’ve actually tried dating and then tell me that Darien.”
“You little spore... WAIT!” sounded in the background only to be ignored by the two men.
Darien opened his mouth to reply to Andrew’s last comment when a pink blur darted between them. Darien blinked in surprise but then he noticed Andrew’s face go from surprised to startled to amused and then he found himself knocked off his feet and onto one of the nearby chairs.
“Ooomf!”
“Eek!”
“What the...?!”
“Sorry!”
“Meatball Head!”
“Don’t call me that!”
“Why shouldn’t I? Get off me you klutz!”
“You are such a jerk!”
“Get off me Meatball Head!”
“As if I want to stay here! You give me hives!”
“You just give me bruises!”
“I said sorry, you don’t deserve it, but I did say it!”
“MOVE!”
Darien ground his teeth as he untangled himself from the scatterbrained girl. As soon as they were both on their feet he opened his mouth to berate her but she stiffened and dashed off again. Darien shut his mouth with a snap and watched as she sprinted after a younger girl who was snickering. The two girls made a loop of the pool while Andrew and Darien watched in silence. Both of them were careful to step out of their path when the mad pair came past them once more yet Darien was still jolted, this time by the smaller female. The dark haired man closed his eyes in annoyance and Andrew shrugged.
“So that’s the Meatball Head hmm? At least you didn’t end up in the drink this time Bro.”
SPLASH! A huge wave of water erupted from the pool and drenched both males. Darien opened his eyes to feminine laughter both in front and behind him and a masculine sigh at his side.
“Maybe I spoke too soon,” Andrew suggested.
“Yeah,” Darien agreed sourly as he opened his eyes. Directly in front of him the four college girls were laughing at them and when he turned to see who was behind them he found Bunny giggling while she tread water and held her younger cousin.
Darien scowled but Andrew forestalled him with a raised palm. The blonde walked to the edge of the pool and looked out at the two girls. “What do you think you’re up to girls?” he asked mildly.
Rini and Bunny looked to one another and Darien shook his head at how fast they had united against a common threat. “Nothing!” they chorused sweetly and Bunny swam to where Andrew stood while she still held Rini.
When they reached him, Andrew reached down and lifted Rini out of the pool and placed her on the side. “Can you swim on your own Rini?”
“Not very well.” was the answer and Andrew sighed.
He turned back to the girl in the pool and inquired calmly, “You do realise that you’re at the deep end don’t you Bunny?” The teen nodded her head but didn’t look away from the elder blonde. Andrew raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do you have anything to say for yourself Bunny?”
She bit her lip and looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded again. “Uh huh!”
“What?”
“Come closer.”
SPLASH! Several seconds later Andrew resurfaced and sputtered while Bunny kicked away from the edge and lazily drifted away. “You know how well I swim Andy so you know that she was in no danger,” she informed him as if disappointed that he would have so little trust.
Darien glanced from one to the other, surprised not only by the strange grace that Bunny displayed in the water which was at odds with the impression of incompetence she gave him but also by the familiarity between the two dripping blondes. It was obvious that they both knew each other and rather well at that.
“You two know each other?” he asked Andrew curiously and the other man nodded but kept his eyes glued to Bunny.
“Uh huh, ever since we were kids. Basically, we grew up together, then I came to Tokyo and we’ve seen each other only rarely ever since.”
“Not rarely enough though, I’ll bet,” Darien said sympathetically.
Suddenly Andrew gave him a sunny grin. “What ever made you think that?” he asked, “Seeing Bunny is the highlight of my year... especially when I get to-” Abruptly he leapt out of the water towards where the apparently oblivious girl floated peacefully and landed close enough to her that the wave hit her. Moments later she retaliated and a full fledge water fight began between the pair.
Darien shook his head in disbelief. “He’s as bad as she is,” he muttered to himself before he turned to Rini. She was dressed in a simple pink swimsuit, her pigtails dripping water from her short dip, and watched Andrew and Bunny dunk each other with an expression of utter disbelief on her face.
“You didn’t think that Andrew could be such a clown did you Rini?” he asked and sat down next to her. He had introduced her to his best friend the day before when he had taken her to the arcade and Andrew had been his usual cheerful, yet respectable, self.
She looked at him with wide eyes. “He was so... And now he’s...”
“I blame it on the Meatball Head,” Darien snorted, “He’s acting as if he were five instead of twenty. Normally when he’s not working, his maturity level only drops to about seventeen, but your cousin’s a bad influence on him.”
“Maybe they just want to enjoy themselves while they don’t have to be serious,” she offered to him.
Darien mulled over her suggestion seriously. He knew that Andrew was a lot more playful than he could afford to be when he worked in the arcade but, as far as he knew, Bunny was never serious. Each time they had met, she had been the same annoying, irritating and objectionable brat that bugged him so much. So how was he supposed to reconcile that with the knowledge that she had been very capable when she had saved the scouts and him? True, he had called her names before she had had a chance to speak to him on the two occasions they’d met as themselves. The first time she might have deserved it, she had been day dreaming but it hadn’t been her fault that the wooden railing had been broken and yesterday he had just been surprised that she was the scout’s mysterious new ally. He had not expected to see her again let alone have her as an ally and the meatball head comment had just slipped out. Maybe he just brought out the worst in her but then why did she act so immaturely when she wasn’t arguing with him? Maybe Rini was right and she was just enjoying her free time. But she was like that all the time.
Darien dropped the line of thought. He’d known her for all of four days and as such couldn’t judge her... yet. Instead he slipped into the water and turned to Rini. “Want to come in Rini?”
She smiled and accepted his hand. Moments later her arms were around his neck as she rode on his back. Both of them ignored the two squabbling blondes in favour of enjoying the water in peace.
***
*HA! Take that Motoki ap Serenity no braud!*
*Right back at you Usagi no baka!*
*You’re gonna get it Toki!*
*Have to catch me first Usa!*
“Annnnddrreeeewww! No faaiiirrr!”
*If that’s for Darien’s benefit, I don’t think he’s listening.* “Come on Bunny, you can do better than that!”
*I know but it let me get close enough to do this!*
Splash, splash, SPLASH!
“BUUUNNY!” *USAGI!*
“Ah hah!” *Gotcha!*
*You are going to pay!*
“Ha hah-eep!” *Getting vindictive in your old age aren’t you fy braud?*
*Don’t ‘brother mine,’ me and this is simply justice!* “Okay Bunny, you asked for it, take this!”
“Glub!” *Alright, I cry mercy!*
*See, I’m not vindictive at all!* “Up you come Bunny.”
Gasp! *That was a dirty trick-*
*No more so than yours!* “You okay Bunny?”
*-But it was a cool one, I’ll remember it so watch out next time!* Huff. “Yeah-” Puff. “Peachy.” Woosh.
Andrew grinned down at his sister who pretended to be short of breath. He pulled her with him as he glided to the side of the pool and then gently lifted her onto the side before he jumped up himself. She flopped back dramatically against the cement and heaved a huge sigh.
“Now that was exhausting,” she declared. *Better watch it Toki, hungry human huntresses at three o’clock!*
Andrew casually glanced in the direction she indicated and saw two of the college girls from earlier eying him speculatively. He found their line of thought blatantly obvious: they were sizing him up as datable material. Not that he minded that though, after all, they were all very pretty and Rita didn’t mind harmless flirting. Of course they had the advantage of being Lunarian. Neither of them would ever need to feel jealous, their hearts were too firmly in the other’s grasp. Besides he had another reason to make their acquaintance. *Very tasty sis, what do you think of the one in the red?*
*What? Oh! You’re trying to set Darien up... why?*
*Because he’s lonely Usa, and I hate it when those I care about are lonely. Now I can’t help you but maybe I can help him.*
Andrew felt Bunny’s attention turn to all of the college girls, not just the ones which were checking him out. She didn’t even open her eyes as she briefly examined their auras and then compared them to Darien’s.
*The one in the red would drive him crazy after a month,* she eventually decided.
*Oh? I thought she’d be good for him to get accustomed to dating. She’s fun and cheerful, very happy go lucky, graceful and-*
*She’d end up driving the Frog-face nuts. She’d fall for him within the week and when she starts getting all sentimental, she’ll start to irritate him. Basically she’d be doing unintentionally what I’m doing on purpose, not a good thing if your trying to convince him that dating is interesting. What about the one in blue?*
*She’s so serious though! But...*
*But put her with someone similar to herself and she tries to set them at ease. Her sense of humour’d get his attention and she’d be a good introduction to the delicacies of dating.*
*You might be right. I just want to get him comfortable with the first girl not set him up for life. Introduce him gradually-* He cut off mid thought as something caught both his and his sister’s attention.
*What’s that?*
*I don’t know, it’s not good though.*
“Meatball Head!” Darien’s voice snapped through the twins’ distraction.
Both Andrew and Bunny turned to where Darien had just lifted Rini out of the water and had hauled himself out as fast as he could. The dark haired man paused for a moment and Andrew, once again, was reminded of his friend’s evasive mannerisms when Darien was active as Tuxedo Mask. After the barely discernible pause he twitched his fingers and a rose appeared and disappeared in a split second; if Andrew had blinked, he would have missed it. The Lunarian watcher saw his sister’s eyes widen as she also caught the brief glimpse of Tuxedo Mask’s trademark weapon.
“Hey Meatball Head weren’t you supposed to meet Mina and her friends this morning?”
Both Andrew and Bunny comprehended immediately but Andrew did not let on as Bunny nodded. “Oh Yeah,” she exclaimed, “I totally forgot-”
“Why don’t you ring them Bunny, I’m sure there’s a phone around here somewhere. Darien probably knows, why don’t you get him to show you?”
“I’d better, she probably gets lost in her closet, who knows what would happen to her out here,” Darien quickly agreed as he stood up.
“Hey Andy, could you watch Rini for me?” Bunny turned to him with a pleading expression. *Keep her out of trouble for me Toki?*
“Sure Bunny,” he answered both her spoken and unspoken questions, “I’d love to.”
She grinned. “Great!” she exclaimed before she turned to Rini and knelt down to look her in the eye. “Sorry Spore, I’ve gotta go for the moment but I won’t be too long. Promise me that you’ll stay with Andy huh? And that you won’t run off again?”
Rini nodded solemnly. “I promise.”
“Wicked!” Bunny bounced to her feet, grabbed Darien’s arm and began to tug him towards the changing rooms. “Later!”
He rolled his eyes and pulled her in the other direction. “This way Meatball Head!”
Andrew bit back a laugh at the long-suffering expression on his friend’s face and the irritation building in his sister’s mind as the mismatched duo rushed off. They disappeared around a corner and he turned his attention to the child with him. Her ruby eyes stared off, after Darien and Bunny and she looked almost lost without them. Andrew debated briefly on whether or not to reassure her, or even to tell her who he was. After all, his sister had done so and it wasn’t like Rini was a human or anything. Regretfully, he discarded the idea; his mother had commanded that no one was to know of his identity, no matter what the circumstances, and unfortunately that included Rini. So he couldn’t tell her that she was safe with him, he couldn’t tell her that Bunny and Darien would be okay. He wasn’t even sure if Darien had told her who he was.
“Don’t worry Rini, they’ll be back soon,” he said inadequately instead. She looked at him sceptically and he smiled hopefully. “Want an ice cream?”
***
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